Issues and Challenges faced by Women Domestic workers in Thideer Nagar at Saidapet, Chennai City

Abstract

Domestic workers comprise a significant part of the global workforce in informal employment and are among the most vulnerable groups of workers. They work for private households, often without clear terms of employment, unregistered in any book, and excluded from the scope of labour legislation. Currently there are at least 53 million domestic workers worldwide, not including child domestic workers and this number is increasing steadily in developed and developing countries. Even though a substantial number of men work in the sector often as gardeners, drivers or butlers it remains a highly feminized sector where 83 per cent of all domestic workers are women. Most of the women are working as domestic workers to earn their livelihood because of their socio and economic conditions, family backgrounds, early death of their husbands due to consumption of alcohol. There are a lot of deserted women working as domestic workers as their husbands have left them and are living with another woman. Therefore, this research work is being implemented for the women, who are domestic workers between the age group of 18 and 60 and above with sub-standard settlements in Thideer Nagar at Saidapet, Chennai City. These women are engaged in doing household works and they remain jobless otherwise. This research aims at empowering the domestic workers and enabling them with decision making skills. In addition, it also helps them to be engaged throughout the day and thus they can improve their economic standard with the help of the special schemes and welfare activities implemented by the Government for the betterment of their life. We can also educate them to utilize the welfare benefits and special schemes initiated by the Social welfare board. If the women are empowered and their economic standard is improved they will no longer receive any loan from the money lenders for higher interest and it also motivates the women to rise above their issues and challenges. Effective and rigorous empowerment programmes and decision making skills have been offered to all these women by the qualified experts who work in Domestic Workers Welfare Department. Establishment of a Service Centre which will help them to come out of their conditions pertaining to inequality and discrimination will be of great help. This research is aimed at studying the educational qualification of the workers and their involvement in work and it also lets us know the factors that affect the women in their workplace especially the problems caused by the house owners.